Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

This recipe for Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon is dedicated to anyone out there who is convinced that they don’t like Brussels sprouts! I’ve been right there with you – convinced myself that Brussels sprouts were one of those vegetables that I didn’t (and couldn’t possibly) like!

The first time I had Brussels sprouts, they were mushy (boiled or steamed – I can’t really remember) – and they didn’t smell very appetizing! And for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why some people raved about them!

Then – I joined the ranks of Brussels sprouts lovers! The trick is to roast them in the oven at a high enough temperature that they caramelize and get golden and crispy on the outside, and tender (but not mushy) on the inside. And – since pretty much everything is better with bacon – we cooked our oven roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, giving the sprouts even more delicious flavor!

These oven roasted Brussels sprouts are super easy to prepare and make a delicious side dish alongside steak, or even lamb. Any leftovers are delicious added to salads as well!

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Ingredients

1½ pounds Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 bacon slices, cut into 1 inch pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean and trim Brussels sprouts and cutting any very large heads in half through the core. (It’s fine if some of the outer leaves fall off – just bake those along with the rest of the sprouts. They get extra crispy and are delicious!)

Place the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing to evenly coat.

Pour the Brussels sprouts onto a large sheet pan (you want them to be in a single layer). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then evenly sprinkle the bacon pieces over the Brussels sprouts.

Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time, until golden and lightly caramelized.

You Might Also Like...

Martha is part of the husband-wife team that creates A Family Feast. She loves to cook and entertain for family and friends, and she believes that serving a great meal is one of the best ways to show someone that you care. Martha is a self-taught home cook, who loves to read cookbooks and try new recipes. After a decades-long career in business and online marketing, she now runs A Family Feast full-time. Her specialties are baking, desserts, vegetables and pasta dishes.

Hi Marina – Yes and no!! Yes, of course, you can cook the frozen Brussels sprouts with the bacon! But – I haven’t had the same luck cooking the frozen and getting the same texture as when we used fresh sprouts. If you can, we’d recommend making this with fresh sprouts. Hope that helps!

My husband used to not like brussels sprouts and he actually just made something very similar to this last night. While bacon does go with everything there is just something wonderful about bacon and brussels sprouts – amazing! I drizzle a little balsamic glaze on mine, too.

I tried making these for a pre-thanksgiving dinner celebration I had with friends. Now I love brussels, usually steamed & nicely seasoned. Soo I figured these would be hella dank. . but I did not really like them. I don’t know if I did anything wrong, but they took a lot longer to cook through than what the recipe said, at least for my taste. I like them somewhat soft, but these were kind of dry, tasting a bit bitter, & just not how I like them. They were really disappointing. Especially since it’s a common food that people will stick their nose up to, I was really hoping to change some perspectives. But I didnt. & in retrospect, I kind of wish I didnt make them.

Sorry to hear that Kelly! Is it possible that the Brussels sprouts you cooked were not very fresh? We’ve made some ourselves in the past that tasted a little bitter and the fresher the better it seems! Thanks for writing to us and I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe!

Hi Martha, I like this receipe and want to try it for Thanksgiving. I found at Whole Foods some baby purple brussel sprouts and they were so beautiful I couldn’t resisit. How can I cook them with the green larger brussel sprouts in this recipe so everything finishes together and is delicious??? 🙂

Hi Lizette – I haven’t seen those (but have to get to my Whole Foods to get some myself – great idea!)… I’m not sure how much smaller they are than your other sprouts but you could toss them into the pan 10 minutes or so into the cooking time so they are done at the same time as the larger ones. That should work!

These are absolutely my new favorite Brussels sprouts ever! Made for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. YUM! I Just landed on your site so looking forward to spending more time here. Enjoy the holiday season!

Hi Meg – Unfortunately the high oven temperature is really the key to getting the Brussels Sprouts to caramelize on the outside while getting tender on the inside. You can bake them at a lower temperature but the results won’t be quite the same.

Thank you for this recipe! Living in Romania, we didn’t eat Brussel sprouts growing up, so for me it’s an acquired taste (all those American/British/Australian cooking shows and movies where people turned their noses up at the boiled, mushy sprouts weren’t very encouraging either), but I really liked the combination of caramelized Brussel sprouts and bacon. I also added a touch of balsamic vinegar to cut through the bitterness and it worked perfectly. 🙂

Made your recipe for our Christmas Dinner yesterday, and it was delicious. My crew likes things extra crispy, so I preheated the sheetpan while the oven was heating, and I roasted the sprouts and bacon for 45 minutes, turning every 15 to get things well caramelized. Everyone loved them; even the children! Great recipe! Thanks for posting!

made this last night, added fresh minced garlic to it and Cajun seasoning and it was delicious! left it in longer than the recipe called for bc I was busy doing other stuff and the outer edges were dark, but still delicious and crispy. will definitely be making this recipe again!!!

Hi Martha, Tried the brusssel sprouts with bacon. What is not to like about this dish?! Went to the local market and hand picked the sprouts so they were all the same size. Followed your cook time and they came out perfect. Thank you for posting! Tony

I made this dish the other night. Only thing diffrent I did was add a little bit of garlic then some pamersan cheese on top towards the end. It was SO good. Next time I’m going to cook it with some chicken breast. Thanks for sharing.

I had never tried Brussels sprouts before…i also thought there was no way i could possibly like them. I don’t like cabbage and they looked like baby size cabbages. So i assumed if they look like pocket size cabbages then they surely are as yucky as cabbage. Well, i was SO wrong! A former coworker made this recipe for a Christmas potluck at work and i decided to try it, i figured the bacon would help me get past the cabbage like taste. After the first bite i was so surprised at the flavor and i ended up asking my coworker if i could take home the leftovers. We laughed together and she was glad i liked it so much. Since then i eat Brussels sprouts every chance i can, i even crave them. I am working on my kids to like them through this recipe 😀

Hi Debbie – I wouldn’t recommend it – the sprouts will end up steaming and get mushy. If want or need to make them ahead and then reheat, I’d recommend sauteeing them for a few minutes in a large skillet with some bacon fat or oil. That way the sprouts will still have some crispy caramelization when served.

Hi Jennifer – I wouldn’t recommend adding chicken broth to get the same caramelized and crispy results you see in our photos. The sprouts will steam and get soft with the added broth instead of roasting – but it’s really up to you. Adding minced garlic should be fine to do. Enjoy!

We roast brussel sprouts w/ bacon and shallot every year for the holidays (Xmas and Thanksgiving primarily). One suggestion for you, if you’re open to ideas, try using rendered duck fat to roast them in. Soooooooooooo good 🙂

Oh. My. Goodness! I have roasted them for a long while now, usually with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice and zest. With or without onion, depending on mood. Making these as soon as my roasted sheet of tossed fennel, onion and garlic exits the oven. I have peppered bacon, too. Thank youuu!!!

I have converted my family to sprouts caramelizing them on the stove top with bacon and a balsamic reduction, but that takes some attention. Today I will make them this way for my grown daughter who has requested them.

I”m going to make this tomorrow. I want to roast small new potatoes mixed in with the sprouts. I’m wondering if I should micowave the potatoes a little to get them started before I put all in the oven?

Hi JP – Definitely! I think they are best served roasted (vs reheating in the microwave) so I’d suggest making them the day before – but take them out o the oven just short of being fully cooked. Then the following day, before your potluck, roast them off for a few more minutes in the same high-heat oven to finish cooking and to heat through – then serve. Hope that helps!

I tired it this way the tirst time but found it too greasy (but delicious). So now, I cook my bacon first and set aside. Pour bacon fat into a bowl. Deglaze pan with a little white wine, which will cook off in the oven. Then I toss sprouts with some of the bacon fat and add to the pan along with some parmesan cheese and then bake. The bacon goes back in just before the sprouts are done.

This recipe is GREAT. I have always hated Brussels sprouts. My fiancé asked me to cook some for her so I found this recipe via google and it’s absolutely amazing. I used 2 lbs of Brussels sprouts, increased the oil by 1/2 Tbs to compensate, and reduced the bacon to three slices because we are trying to lose weight. I also slice all of the brussel sprouts in half so they can all be flat side down on the pan to increase the crunchy bits. OMG these are good. I make these once per week for a dinner side that goes with almost anything. Don’t leave out the bacon completely or it’s not nearly as good. This stuff is good enough to just dump over rice and go to town on it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

Thanks for your feedback Dorothy – we often leave amounts for seasoning with salt and pepper open so you can adjust to your personal taste. But we can certainly add at least initial measurements – we will plan to do that after we make this recipe again ourselves. Thanks for taking the time to write to us today.

Hi Kathleen – Sometimes the Brussels sprouts and bacon takes a little longer to caramelize and crisp up if the sprouts are large and/or the pan is crowded. If the Brussels sprouts are cooked through but the bacon is not, you can always roast just the bacon for a little longer. Hope that helps!

My husband and I loved this!! I lined the baking sheet with aluminum foil, quartered many of the sprouts and baked it about 35 minutes. Thank you for the recommendation to use the loose leaves! Just perfect! Making it for my folks next!

Join Us In The Kitchen!

Sign up to receive our FREE ebook, Our Top 25 Recipes of All Time. Plus, complete the form below to receive our FREE email updates with new posts (daily or weekly), and exclusive subscriber-only content!